Category: Brief histories of famous people across the world and ages

By Tim Lambert His Early Life William Shakespeare was baptized on 26 April 1564. We don’t know the exact date of his birth but in the 16th century, it was normal for babies to be baptised within a few days of their birth (because so many died). Shakespeare was born the same year as Christopher… Continue reading A Brief Biography of William Shakespeare

By Tim Lambert William Wilberforce campaigned against the slave trade. He was born on 24 August 1759 in Wilberforce House in High Street, Hull, Yorkshire. William had 3 sisters but only 1 lived to adulthood. His father, Robert was a merchant. His mother was called Elizabeth. As a child, William was educated at Hull Grammar… Continue reading A Brief Biography of William Wilberforce

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Winston Churchill was a 20th-century British prime minister. He was born on 30 November 1874 in Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England. His father was Lord Randolph Churchill and his mother, Jeanette was an American woman. Winston had a brother called John, born in 1880. When he was a child… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Winston Churchill

By Tim Lambert  Bess of Hardwick was a very rich woman in 16th century England. She was born Elizabeth Hardwick in the autumn of 1527 (the exact date is not known) in the village of Hardwick in Derbyshire. Her father was John Hardwick a moderately prosperous landowner and her mother was also called Elizabeth. She… Continue reading A Short Biography of Bess of Hardwick

By Tim Lambert John Wycliffe was a famous preacher of the Middle Ages. He was born in the North of England but we do not know the exact year (it was around 1328). John Wycliffe was educated at Oxford University and he soon became famous there for his learning and his skill in debate. In… Continue reading A Short Biography of John Wycliffe

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Michael Faraday was one of the great scientists of the 19th century. Faraday was born on 22 September 1791 in Newington Butts in Surrey. (The place where he was born is now part of London). He was one of 4 children. Faraday came from a relatively humble background. His… Continue reading A Short Biography of Michael Faraday

By Tim Lambert The Early Life of Tyndale William Tyndale was a great man of the 16th century. Little is known about his childhood. Tyndale was born about 1494 in Gloucestershire. He came from a family of landowners and wool merchants. We also know that Tyndale had two brothers. The family was well off and… Continue reading A Short Biography of William Tyndale

By Tim Lambert Alfred the Great was born in Wantage, Oxfordshire in 849. He was the youngest son of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. (In those days England was divided into four kingdoms, Northumbria in the north, East Anglia and Mercia in the Midlands, and Wessex in the south). In 868 Alfred married Ealhswith. King Alfred… Continue reading King Alfred and the Danes